The two Australian mates with AFL pedigree have been texting each other before their rivalry in one of American sport’s grandest games.
Joe McGuire, son of AFL identity Eddie McGuire, and James Rendell, the son of the late Matthew Rendell, are on opposing sides in the pinnacle fixture of US college football.
McGuire is Ohio State’s punter and Rendell fills the same role for Notre Dame, with the two famed colleges meeting for the national championship on Monday night (Tuesday morning AEDT).
“It’s fantastic. It’s unreal,” McGuire told AAP.
“We actually went to the (AFL) footy together in April, I think it might have been Collingwood-Carlton, I was sitting with him throughout that game.
“We have been messaging each other a little bit throughout the year.
“And then obviously this last couple of weeks we have been texting each other a few times, like: ‘Geez mate, we actually might see each other in the big one’.
“And each week we both kept winning.”
Both aged 24, both from Melbourne, both grew up ensconced in Australian rules football.
Eddie McGuire is a former Collingwood president and the modern AFL’s biggest media identity; Matthew Rendell was a Fitzroy captain, dual All Australian player before becoming an assistant coach and recruiter until his death in June 2023.
James Rendell was a promising junior in Australian rules, rucking for Victoria Metro in the under 18 national championships in 2018, while Joe McGuire played in amateur ranks.
“One of the only good things about my (Australian rules) football game was that I could kick a ball decently – when I actually got it I could do something alright with it,” McGuire said.
During COVID times, one of McGuire’s mates suggested he try punting, leading to contact with Prokick Australia, formed in 2007 by former AFL player Nathan Chapman to train and transition Australians into American football.
Chapman invited McGuire for what the emerging athlete thought was a casual punt.
“I went down to a local park and had a kick with Chappy, which I didn’t realise was actually a try-out because it’s a selective organisation,” McGuire said.
McGuire was invited into Prokick, Rendell arrived later to join a procession of Australian punters in Chapman’s program.
About 270 punters have been awarded full scholarships in the US through Prokick Australia – its alumni include three punters who have played in the NFL’s Super Bowl and eight winners of the college punter of the year award.
“I was training at Prokick for about two years so it was something that I genuinely dedicated my life to,” McGuire said.
“I wasn’t trying to go over and just mess around at college and play a bit of football. I was going over to go to an elite school and do as well as I possibly can.”
McGuire departed in late July 2023 for Ohio State, who wanted him as back-up to Jesse Mirco, another Australian punter who would be leaving the college at season’s end.
“When you dedicate so much time to something and you’re all in, it was a little bit of a relief that I finally got the chance – and just excitement as well,” McGuire said.
“There was a little bit of: ‘Wow, I am moving to the midwest of America, I hadn’t been to the midwest, don’t know anyone’.
“I had spoken to Jesse once or twice and he turned out to be unreal, just a fantastic mentor. He has got a great chance to go to the NFL this year so I’m very excited for him.”
When Mirco left Ohio State, McGuire was pitched into a three-way competition for the starting punter role – against another Melbourne native, Nick McLarty, and a Canadian.
“The other two guys have unbelievable legs, they’re very good punters, but my consistency was what they said that got me over the line,” McGuire said.
His debut for the Buckeyes last September was his first genuine game of American football, in a competition renowned for its passionate rivalries – in 11 of 15 games this season, he’s played in front of crowds of more than 100,000 people.
“It is like nothing else,” McGuire said of college football’s prime place in American sport.
“Because it’s the university, all the alumni and students as well really feel part of it … it’s very tribal.
“It’s similar to the passion behind AFL in a sense but sometimes even more I’d say, because everyone feels like they’re part of the organisation.
“It’s just so different to anything in Australia … college sport really builds a camaraderie and everyone would live and die for the university, they love it.”
The sophomore must pass his studies in business and media and sport to remain eligible to play – a potential masters degree could follow, if the NFL doesn’t call.
“If I can develop into the player that I hope and think that I can, the ultimate goal would be to go to the NFL for sure,” McGuire said.
For now, McGuire – who also fills the pressure position of taking the snap and holding the ball for field goals – has set his sights on punting well in the championship game in Atlanta.
“A lot of the time they will say it (the punt) is the most important play in football because if it goes wrong, it results in a touchdown,” he said.
“And if it goes right, you can really flip the field and put the defence in a good position and make the other team’s offence quite uncomfortable.
“They often say your punt team is not going to win you a game but certainly can lose you one.
“If I do my job, no-one notices me. If I don’t, then it’s not a good thing and everyone notices me.”
